Muffler

ABSTRACT

A thermal emission-conversion muffler for reducing the toxic emissions output from the muffler has an inlet pipe, an outlet pipe, and a body extending lengthwise between the inlet and outlet pipes. The muffler further has a plurality of plates disposed within the body, and the plates extend in a sideways direction substantially between the side walls of the body. The plates are of a predetermined length, and adjacent plates are at a predetermined distance from each other. In one plate configuration, the plates are arranged in a substantially stacked manner and are parallel as regards exhaust gas flow passing through the muffler.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a thermal emission-conversion muffler,particularly to such a device which reduces emitted toxic pollutantspassing through the device.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Noise and pollutants emitted from vehicles using internal combustionengines and devices such as exhaust stacks are an increasing issue.Engines, and other devices such as stacks, utilise mufflers andcatalytic converters to reduce the sound and toxic emissions.

A muffler consists of an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe with a chamberbetween the inlet and outlet pipes. This chamber is the part of themuffler that reduces the noise of the exhaust gases by being aresonating chamber, which is tuned to cause destructive interference ofthe sound waves generated by the gas travelling through the exhaustsystem. This reduces the amount of noise emitted because of the exhaustgases.

Mufflers can also result in increased engine efficiency, performance,power output and assist in reducing the wear and tear on the enginecomponents by providing reduced backpressure.

A muffler is typically designed to reduce exhaust noise of vehicles.They are normally installed as part of the exhaust system along theexhaust pipe. The exhaust system usually consists of tubing whichconveys the waste exhaust gases away from the engine where they arecreated.

There has also been focus on the polluting effect of vehicular exhaust.Although the largest part of most combustion gases is relativelyharmless nitrogen, water vapour and carbon dioxide, there are stillundesirable noxious or toxic substances emitted such as carbon monoxide,hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, unburnt fuel and particulate matter.

As such, catalytic converters can be used in engines or stacks and thelike to reduce the toxicity of emissions. They are used most commonly inmotor vehicle exhaust systems, but also in other devices with enginessuch as generator sets, forklifts, mining equipment, trucks, buses andtrains. A catalytic converter provides an environment for a chemicalreaction wherein toxic combustion by-products are converted to lesstoxic substances.

Catalytic converters do have a number of drawbacks. They require atemperature above 400° C. to work effectively and thereforesubstantially increase toxic pollutants for about 15 minutes from a coldstart. They are also damaged by misfire, rich fuel mixture, contaminatedfuel, oil contamination, carbon contamination from short trip drivingand various other factors that cause them to work ineffectively.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an alternative orcomplementary device that reduces the environmental impact throughreduced toxic emissions of internal combustion engines and other devicessuch as exhaust stacks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect, the present invention provides a thermalemission-conversion muffler for reducing the toxic emissions output fromthe muffler, the muffler having an inlet pipe, an outlet pipe, and abody extending lengthwise between the inlet and outlet pipes, themuffler further having a plurality of plates disposed within the body,the plates extending in a sideways direction substantially between theside walls of the body and being of a predetermined length, and adjacentplates being at a predetermined distance from each other.

Preferably, the plates are arranged in a substantially stacked mannerand are parallel as regards exhaust gas flow passing through themuffler. The plate geometry may be selected from the following list:substantially flat, substantially corrugated, substantially curvilinear,substantially U-shaped, substantially flattened tubes.

Preferably, the predetermined length of the plates is between 35 and 45millimetres and the predetermined distance is between 2.0 and 4.0millimetres. Even more preferably, the predetermined distance is between2.5 and 3.5 millimetres.

Alternatively, the predetermined length of the plates may be between 35and 45 millimetres and the predetermined distance is between 5.0 and 7.0millimetres. More preferably, the predetermined distance is between 5.5and 6.5 millimetres.

The thickness of the plates may be between 1 and 2 millimetres.

The muffler may be used in conjunction with a catalytic converter.

According to a second aspect, the present invention provides a thermalemission-conversion muffler for reducing the toxic emissions output fromthe muffler, the muffler having an inlet pipe, an outlet pipe, and abody extending lengthwise between the inlet and outlet pipes, themuffler further having a plurality of plates disposed within the body,the plates extending in a sideways direction substantially between theside walls of the body and being of a predetermined surface area andadjacent plates being at a predetermined distance from each other.

According to a third aspect, the present invention provides a thermalemission-conversion muffler for reducing the toxic emissions output fromthe muffler, the muffler having an inlet pipe, an outlet pipe, and abody extending lengthwise between the inlet and outlet pipes, themuffler further having a series of sets of a plurality of platesdisposed within the body, the plurality of plates being arranged in astacked manner, the plates extending in a sideways directionsubstantially between the side walls of the body and being of apredetermined surface area and adjacent plates being at a predetermineddistance from each other, the sets of plates being separated by apredetermined separation distance.

According to a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a thermalemission-conversion muffler for reducing the toxic emissions output fromthe muffler, the muffler having an inlet pipe, an outlet pipe, and abody extending lengthwise between the inlet and outlet pipes, themuffler further having a series of sets of a plurality of platesdisposed within the body, the plurality of plates being arranged in astacked manner, the plates extending in a sideways directionsubstantially between the side walls of the body and being of apredetermined length and adjacent plates being at a predetermineddistance from each other, the sets of plates being separated by apredetermined separation distance.

Each set of stacked plates may have the same predetermined length,distance between the plates, and separation distance between the sets ofplates.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An illustrative embodiment of the present invention will be described byway of example only with reference to the accompanying figures, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a schematic of a top plan view of a thermalemission-conversion muffler with a rectangular body enclosed within amuffler housing according to an embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic of the end plan view of a thermalemission-conversion muffler with a rectangular body enclosed within amuffler housing according to an embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic of one example of the plate configuration withinthe body of the muffler;

FIGS. 4-8 are schematics of alternative plate configurations for thebody of the muffler of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the plate configuration along theaxial length of the muffler body shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a schematic of three alternative plate configurations forplacement within the body of the muffler of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 11 is a schematic of a top plan view of a thermalemission-conversion muffler with a cylindrical body enclosed within amuffler housing according to an embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic of the end plan view of a thermalemission-conversion muffler with a cylindrical body enclosed within amuffler housing according to an embodiment of this invention;

FIGS. 13 a and b shows schematics of two alternative plateconfigurations for the body of the muffler of FIGS. 11 and 12;

FIG. 14 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the plate configurationhaving separated regions along the axial length of a rectangular orcircular body for the body of the muffler of FIGS. 1, 2, 11 and 12.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention may be implemented in a variety of ways and theembodiments illustrated are to be considered only as illustrativeconstructions.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show schematically the top and end plan views of a thermalemission-conversion muffler 10 enclosed within a muffler body 30. Themuffler 10 has an inlet pipe 20, an outlet pipe 25 and a body 30 placedbetween these two pipes 20,25. The body 30 is connected to the pipes20,25 by tapered pipe sections 20 a,25 a extending between the body 30and each of the inlet pipe 20 and outlet pipes 25. These tapered pipesections 20 a,25 a may transition into the body 30 with a predeterminedradii of curvature. This measure will contribute to a more even gas flowthrough the muffler 10. The body 30 is surrounded by a heat shield 15with an air gap between the body and heat shield as is known in the art.

As shown in FIG. 3 in a schematic of the inside of the body from a endview, the body 30 can be made in two parts and seam welded together 35.The body 30 and heat shield 15 of the rectangular mufflers 10 areconstructed from two symmetrical halves. Internal to the body is aplurality of plates 45 held firmly within a holding device 40. Theplates 45 extend substantially the full sideways width of the body 30.

The plates shown in FIG. 3 are flattened tubes of a predetermined lengthand have a predetermined separation d between adjacent plates. Theplates shown in FIG. 3 are rectangular with bull-nosed sides. Theholding device 40 is configured to hold such a shape firmly in place toavoid any movement of the plates 45.

FIGS. 4-8 are end view schematics of alternative plate 40 configurationsfor the body 30 of the muffler 10:

-   -   FIG. 4 shows the plates 45 as a serpentine shape made from one        piece of metal and held in place by a holding device 40 similar        to the holding device in FIG. 3.    -   The plates 45 of FIG. 5 are elongated U-shapes which self-lock        within the holding device 40. The bent ends of the U-shaped        plates 45 can be shortened or lengthened to achieve the required        predetermined distance d between the plates 45.    -   Flat plates 45 in FIGS. 6 and 7 are held in place by crimping        edges of the holding device 40.    -   FIG. 8 shows the pre-formed holding device 40, that locks the        stacked plates 45 together as one unit, before it is compressed        to the reduced length shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The pre-formed        holding device 40 may have numerous small raised humps 40 a        along the length of the surface and between the holding device        and plates to hold the plates 45 more firmly and prevent the        plates from separating from the holding device 40.        The rectangular and round mufflers may be constructed with one        or more long narrow slots 51 in opposing sides of the muffler        body 30 to allow the plates 45 to be welded to the body 30.        Also, the ends of the plates 45 of all the plate configurations        used in the rectangular and round mufflers are radiused 52.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view along its axial length of the plateconfiguration shown in FIG. 8, before the pre-formed holding device 40is compressed to the reduced length shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. As statedabove, the plates are separated by a predetermined distance d.

FIG. 10 is a schematic of three alternative configurations of plates 45for placement within the body 30 of the muffler 10. The shapes shown atFIGS. 10 a and b are corrugated versions of the plates 45 shown in FIGS.3 and 4 respectively. The shapes shown in FIGS. 10 a,b,c can be placedin a body 30 with flat surfaces and no corrugations.

The rectangular muffler bodies 30 can be constructed using flat plateswith corrugated holding devices 40 on each side of the flat plates. Theends of the flat plates are inserted into the valleys of the corrugatedholding devices 40 which are compressed to lock the plates 45 intoposition. The flat plates 45 can be inserted into each valley or everysecond valley depending on the predetermined distance d required betweenthe plates 45. Corrugated holding devices 40 of about 1.5 mm thicknesscan support the plates 45 being positioned at a distance of 3 mm to 6 mmapart. Alternatively, 3 mm thick corrugated holding devices 45 can beused to position the plates the desired thickness apart (eg 6 mm). Thebody 30 of the rectangular muffler 10 with the corrugated holding device40 has a rectangular section on opposing sides to lock the plates 45 andcorrugated holding device 40 into position.

The mufflers 10 can also include a heat shield 15 that follows the shapeof the rectangular or round muffler, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. Theheat shield 15 is open at each end to allow a flow of air between themuffler body 30 and the heat shield 15. The heat shield as shown on theround muffler in FIGS. 11 and 12 has a plurality of retaining portions53 at the ends of the heat shield which are V-shape bends that bendinwards towards the tapered pipe sections 20 a,25 a of the muffler body30. The retaining portions 53 can be welded at the tip 54 of theretaining portions to the tapered pipe sections 20 a,25 a of themuffler. Apart from the shape of the body 30, the muffler 10 is the sameas that shown in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 13 a and b shows two alternative plate configurations for the body30 of the cylindrical muffler 10 which are equivalent to those for therectangular muffler 10 shown in FIGS. 5 and 4 respectively. Therectangular and round mufflers 10 can be constructed using either flattubes, one piece of corrugated plate with a flat surface or U-shapedplates. The rectangular muffler 10 can also be constructed using flatplates.

FIG. 14 is a schematic of another embodiment of the invention. Thisfigure shows a series of sets of stacked plates 45 as shown in theearlier figures, but in a separated configuration. The separation x_(n)between subsequent sets of plates allows each set of stacked plates 45to maintain the maximum increase in temperature along its axial lengthand prevents the outlet temperature of each set of stacked plates 45from cooling. This allows the temperature of the exhaust gas at theoutlet of the stacked plates to be controlled by maintaining orincreasing the optimum length of the plates.

Various configurations for separating the sets of stacked plates 45 maybe employed. Two examples shown in FIG. 14 are:

-   -   The rectangular and round mufflers with a series of sets of        stacked plates 45 have tapered sections 55 separating each set        of stacked plates 45.    -   the round mufflers with a series of stacked plates 45 can have a        ⅛″ (3 mm) smaller diameter tube 56 with a specific length fitted        inside the muffler body to separate each set of stacked plates        45.

In use, the exhaust gases flow through the muffler 10 and heat up theplates 45, which in turn increases the temperature of the gas flow. Theapplicant has found that through utilising the arrangement of stackedplates, the core temperature of the muffler body 30 can be, depending onthe configuration utilised, increased between four to ten times greaterthan the exhaust gas temperature in a pipe of the same size. Theincreased temperature results in the break down and reduction of thetoxic pollutants: HC, CO, NO_(x).

As this device is a ‘straight through’ flow for the exhaust gas, thegases are not restricted (as they are for example by the restrictivepassages in a baffled muffler or by the small restrictive passages in acatalytic converter) and therefore there is no power loss due to theslowing of the exhaust gases in some conventional muffler/catalyticconverter systems. Also, the hotter core temperature of the muffler 10increases the gas speed by virtue of the hotter gas temperature. Thisresults in more power being available to the vehicle engine but alsogreater fuel economy.

One configuration of muffler 10 has plates 45 separated by a distance dof 2.5-3.5 mm and a length of between 35-45 mm. The muffler 10 with thisconfiguration will be referred to as an “EV16”. It was found that thetemperature of the EV16 muffler core was 8 times higher than thetemperature of a typical exhaust pipe of the same diameter. Eg, thetemperature of a typical exhaust pipe is about 100° C. while thetemperature of the EV16 muffler core was about 800° C.

The EV16 muffler was similar to the configuration shown in FIG. 14: itwas a series of 4 sets of stacked plates. The distance d between theplates 45 was 3 mm and the length of the plates was 40 mm. Theseparations x₁,x_(2 etc) between each set of stacked plates 45 was 10-50mm. The gas emission was analysed by a Bosch gas analyser. The enginethe muffler 10 was fitted to was a 2.4 litre Diesel 4 cylinder in a 1991Toyota Hilux Utility with a peak RPM of 4700. Note: CO, HC, NO_(x) aretoxic emissions while O₂ and CO₂ are harmless emissions. The tests onthe EV16 produced the following results (similar results were obtainedfor a petrol vehicle):

TABLE 1 Before: Results with standard exhaust system. Gas RPM 1400results RPM: 2700 results CO 0.012% 0.071% HC  1 ppm  −1 ppm NO_(x) 120ppm 267 ppm O₂ 15.84%  2.70% CO₂  3.60% 13.35%

TABLE 2 After: Results with the addition of a series of four 2½ × 3 inchlong EV16 mufflers of above description and fitted to standard exhaustsystem with no other modifications. Gas RPM 1400 results RPM: 2700results CO 0.006% 0.016% HC  −1 ppm  −0 ppm NO_(x) 115 ppm 106 ppm O₂16.17% 15.43% CO₂  3.32%  3.83%

Results show 78% lower CO emission, 60% lower NOx emissions and nochange to HC emissions. The particulate (smoke) emissions reduced to thepoint that they were not visible. Therefore, this muffler 10 reduces thetoxic emissions with carbureted, fuel injected or gas vehicles that donot use a catalytic converter as well as substantially reducing theexhaust smoke from diesel emissions. Further toxic emission reductioncould have been obtained by increasing from four the number or sets ofstacked plates. The EV16 also substantially reduces cold start emissionsin vehicles without a catalytic converter or other emission controldevices.

Another muffler configuration has plates separated by a distance d ofbetween 5.5 and 6.5 mm. The muffler with these plate distances will bereferred to as an “EV8”. It was found that the temperature of the EV8muffler core was 6 times higher than the temperature of a typicalexhaust pipe of the same diameter. Eg, the temperature of a typicalexhaust pipe is about 100° C. while the temperature of the EV8 mufflercore was about 600° C.

It was found that a distance d of less than 2.5 or greater than 3.5millimetres reduced the temperature of the muffler core. It was alsofound that a plate length of longer than 40 mm reduces the outlettemperature of the muffler core, and the reduction in temperaturecontinues the longer the plate is over 40 mm. This allows the mufflercore to be tuned to a specific outlet temperature.

The EV8 muffler 10 was 2½×6 inches long with plates separated by adistance d of 6 mm and was fitted in front of a catalytic converter withno other modifications. The vehicle used was a 2004 Toyota CorollaSportivo with a 1.8 litre 4 cylinder VTEC engine, with peak RPM of 8000,which uses a catalytic converter and runs on premium unleaded fuel. Theresults are shown in Tables 3 and 4.

TABLE 3 Before: Results with standard exhaust system and standard OEMcatalytic converter. Gas RPM 800 results RPM: 2500 results CO 0.10-0.27%0.29-0.43% HC 338-395 ppm 51-78 ppm O₂ 0.61% 0.46% CO₂ 14.73% 14.73%Lambda 1.01 1.01 AFR 14.7 14.6

TABLE 4 After: Results with the addition of a 2½ × 6 inch long EV8muffler in conjunction with an aftermarket or standard OEM catalyticconverter and fitted to standard exhaust system with no othermodifications. Gas RPM 800 results RPM: 2500 results CO 0.00-0.02%0.00-0.01% HC 25-42 ppm* 3-5 ppm* O₂ 0.68% 0.31% CO₂ 15.02% 15.51%Lambda 1.03 1.01 AFR 14.9 14.7 Results show 98% lower CO emissions, 94%lower HC emissions and 85% lower NO_(x) emissions. The NO_(x) emissionswere calculated from the diesel results in Table 2. *Level of HCemissions in the atmosphere was 3-4 ppm

After this test, the EV8 muffler and catalytic converter were alsotested on the 2.4 litre diesel vehicle, with the following results.

TABLE 5 After: Results with the addition of a 2½ × 6 inch long EV8muffler in conjunction with an aftermarket catalytic converter andfitted to standard exhaust system with no other modifications. Gas RPM1400 results RPM: 2700 results CO 0.011% 0.019% HC  0 ppm  1 ppm NO_(x)141 ppm 128 ppm O₂ 16.20% 15.65% CO₂  3.47%  3.86%

These results show that with diesel vehicles the EV16 muffler alonereduces toxic emissions more than the EV8 muffler and catalyticconverter combination or catalytic converters used alone.

After the tests were completed for the EV8 muffler, the catalyticconverters were examined and it was found that substantially no damagehad been sustained by the catalytic converter, as is usual with generalvehicle use, indicating that the use of the EV8 muffler protects thecatalytic converter from, for example, misfire, carbon contaminationfrom excessive short trip driving, rich fuel mixture, high hydrocarbon(HC) emissions, oil contamination, contaminated fuel, high sulphur fuel,leaded fuel, engine coolant, chemical additives, silicone contaminationfrom sealants and thermal shock. Any of these factors damage thecatalytic converter and render it useless which increases pollution.Therefore, this device 10 could allow the fitting of a catalyticconverter to carburetted vehicles to permit reduced toxic emissionswithout damaging the catalytic converter.

This device also assists in the operation of the catalytic converterwhich requires a temperature above 400° C. to work effectively whichusually takes 15 minutes of engine running time to generate thistemperature. The operation of the muffler 10 in front of the catalyticconverter produces the optimum catalytic converter operatingtemperatures far quicker; it was found that the operating temperature ofthe catalytic converter was reached in 2 minutes by the EV8 mufflerwhich substantially reduced cold start emissions. The length of theplates 45 is important in this regard to immediately produce the optimumtemperature gas input to the catalytic converter and prevent thecatalytic converter from exceeding its operating temperature. It wasfound that the temperature of the plates 45 was about 600° C. for thefirst 40 mm of the plates 45, then dropped to about 300-400° C. at 125mm.

Further, use of the EV8 allows the catalytic converter to be moved 2.5metres further away from the engine while producing the same results.

In summary, the configurations tested were:

Muffler Applications Length Width Requirements EV8 Fuel injected and gas6½″ ¼″ wider than the 1 × EV8 muffler is required vehicles fitted with a(165 mm) inlet pipe diameter per side catalytic converter For example,2″ EV8 EV8 muffler must be fitted 2″, 2½″, 3″ exhaust muffler has 2¼″ inFRONT of the catalytic systems width, 2½″ EV8 converter muffler has 2¾″width, etc EV16 Carbureted, fuel injected, 3½″ ½″ wider than the 4 ×EV16 mufflers are gas and diesel vehicles  (90 mm) inlet pipe diameterrequired per side NOT fitted with a catalytic For example, 2″ AdditionalEV16 mufflers converter EV16 muffler has may be used to further Dieselvehicles fitted with a 2½″ width, 2½″ reduce toxic emissions, catalyticconverter and EV16 muffler has 3″ increase power or reduce particulate(smoke) filter width, etc noise 2″, 2½″, 3″, 4″, 5″, 6″ exhaust systemsEV164 Same as EV16 9¼″ Same as EV16 1 × EV164 muffler is (235 mm)required per side NOTE Additional EV164 mufflers EV164 muffler uses 4 ×EV16 mufflers built into 1 muffler may be used to further Using either 1long EV164 muffler or 4 short EV16 mufflers per side reduce toxicemissions, produces the same results. However, the short EV16 mufflerallows increase power or reduce more mufflers to be fitted to any partof the exhaust system to noise further reduce toxic emissions, increasepower or reduce noise

It was also found that the positioning of the muffler 10 in the exhaustsystem may have relevant effects. For example, the muffler may bepositioned into each primary pipe of the exhaust manifold/header which,by bringing the muffler closer to the exhaust port, allows the mufflerto warm up more quickly and operate at a higher temperature, whereby itcan work more efficiently in reducing emission of pollutants (both coldstart emissions and operating emissions) and noise. The highertemperature of operation of the muffler when so positioned alsoincreases the gas velocity through the muffler which has the upstreameffect of increasing the level of gas scavenging and purging in thecylinder, thereby improving engine performance. Nonetheless, the smallsize of the muffler 10 means that it can be fitted to any part of theexhaust system. However, in a vehicle fitted with a catalytic converter,in order to achieve the benefits to the catalytic converter, the muffler10 must be fitted before the catalytic converter.

While it will be understood that the focus of the description above hasbeen related to the reduction in toxic emissions, the device 10 also isbeneficial in reducing the noise emitted from the outlet pipe 25. Thisis a result of the sound waves entering through the inlet pipe 20reducing in amplitude due to reflecting off the plates 45 inside themuffler body 30. It was found in the tests that the EV mufflers reducedthe exhaust noise by 5 db (36%) and increased the power by 3%. It wasfound that this power increase and noise reduction whether the exhaustsystem is a standard, restrictive or performance type.

The muffler 10 may replace existing mufflers or used in conjunction withthem to provide the extra noise reduction. The results indicated abovealso work for modern vehicles using restrictive exhaust systems.Additional mufflers 10 may be fitted along the exhaust system (eg at themiddle or end) to increase the gas speed at these points to provide anincrease in power.

It is to be noted that this muffler 10 does not have perforated tubing;moving parts; spiral, turbine or venturi shapes; sound absorptionmaterial; speakers, electronics or computers; electrical heatingdevices; require expensive metals; and does not work like conventionalmufflers or catalytic converters.

It will be realised by persons skilled in the art that numerousvariations and/or modifications may be made to this exhaust mufflerdevice as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from thespirit or scope of the invention as broadly described. The presentembodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects asillustrative and not restrictive.

For example, as shown, while the examples provided have described thedevice in use with an internal combustion engine, the device is equallysuited to exhaust stacks and the like. Further, the body of the mufflercan be rectangular or cylindrical in cross-section. The plates may notnecessarily be flat but could be corrugated, elliptical in cross sectionor any other suitable configuration.

1. A thermal emission-conversion muffler for reducing the toxicemissions output from the muffler, the muffler having an inlet pipe, anoutlet pipe, and a body extending lengthwise between the inlet andoutlet pipes, the muffler further having a plurality of plates disposedwithin body, the plates extending in a sideways direction substantiallybetween the side walls of the body and being of a predetermined length,and adjacent plates being at a predetermined distance from each other.2. The muffler according to claim 1, wherein the plates are arranged ina substantially stacked manner and being parallel as regards exhaust gasflow passing through the muffler.
 3. The muffler according to claim 1,wherein the plate geometry is selected from the following list:substantially flat, substantially corrugated, substantially curvilinear,substantially U-shaped, substantially flattened tubes.
 4. The muffleraccording to any one of the preceding claims claim 1, wherein thepredetermined length of the plates is between 35 and 45 millimetres. 5.The muffler according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined distance isbetween 2.0 and 4.0 millimetres.
 6. The muffler of claim 5, wherein thepredetermined distance is between 2.5 and 3.5 millimetres.
 7. Themuffler according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined length of theplates is between 35 and 45 millimetres.
 8. The muffler according toclaim 1, wherein the predetermined distance is between 5.0 and 7.0millimetres.
 9. The muffler of claim 8, wherein the predetermineddistance is between 5.5 and 6.5 millimetres.
 10. The muffler accordingto claim 1, wherein the thickness of the plates is between 1 and 2millimetres.
 11. The muffler according to claim 1 used in conjunctionwith a catalytic converter.
 12. A thermal emission-conversion mufflerfor reducing the toxic emissions output from the muffler, the mufflerhaving an inlet pipe, an outlet pipe, and a body extending lengthwisebetween the inlet and outlet pipes, the muffler further having aplurality of plates disposed within body, the plates extending in asideways direction substantially between the side walls of the body andbeing of a predetermined surface area and adjacent plates being at apredetermined distance from each other.
 13. A thermalemission-conversion muffler for reducing the toxic emissions output fromthe muffler, the muffler having an inlet pipe, an outlet pipe, and abody extending lengthwise between the inlet and outlet pipes, themuffler further having a series of sets of a plurality of platesdisposed within body, the plurality of plates being arranged in astacked manner, the plates extending in a sideways directionsubstantially between the side walls of the body and being of apredetermined surface area and adjacent plates being at a predetermineddistance from each other, the sets of plates being separated by apredetermined separation distance.
 14. A thermal emission-conversionmuffler for reducing the toxic emissions output from the muffler, themuffler having an inlet pipe, an outlet pipe, and a body extendinglengthwise between the inlet and outlet pipes, the muffler furtherhaving a series of sets of a plurality of plates disposed within body,the plurality of plates being arranged in a stacked manner, the platesextending in a sideways direction substantially between the side wallsof the body and being of a predetermined length and adjacent platesbeing at a predetermined distance from each other, the sets of platesbeing separated by a predetermined separation distance.
 15. The muffleraccording to claim 13 wherein the each set of stacked plates have thesame predetermined length, distance between the plates, and separationdistance between the sets of plates.